Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, argues that the Federal Reserve's new Reserve Management Purchases policy could ignite a rally that drives Bitcoin toward $200,000 in early 2026 before a steep correction. He forecasts BTC first regaining $124,000 and then surging higher, even as other analysts warn that on-chain data now points to a developing bear market.

After a weekend of consolidation, the crypto market opened trading in the same tight range, with global capitalisation hovering close to $3 trillion and 24-hour volume rising into the $70–80 billion band. Bitcoin is holding short-term support, Ethereum remains above $3,000, and several large-cap tokens show selective strength, while repeated resistance failures and derivatives leverage clean-ups keep conditions choppy. Upcoming US macro data and ETF flows could push Bitcoin toward higher resistance or trigger a breakdown, leaving markets broadly range-bound but increasingly volatility-sensitive.

Bitcoin hovered around $88,000 on Sunday, with traders bracing for increased volatility into the weekly close. Some analysts expect a breakout toward the $98,000–$100,000 area and even a medium-term move to $150,000, while others warn of a possible correction back to the $70,000–$72,000 demand zone. Rising BTC inflows to Binance and key moving average signals are being monitored as potential catalysts for sharp price moves.

On December 20, 2025, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino outlined plans to hire a lead engineer to develop a self-custodial mobile wallet that integrates the firm's on-device AI stack. The product is designed to support only Bitcoin via Lightning, USDT, USAT, and the gold-backed XAUT token, emphasizing payments and value preservation. Built on Tether's WDK and QVAC platforms, the wallet would give users local AI-assisted features without relying on cloud-based data processing.

Uniswap governance has approved the UNIfication proposal after surpassing 40 million votes, paving the way to activate protocol fee switches and launch the upgrade this week. The plan will burn about 100 million UNI from the Foundation’s treasury, reducing circulating supply from 629 million to 529 million and introducing new fee parameters for v2 and v3 pools while aligning Uniswap Labs, the Uniswap Foundation, and on-chain governance.

On Dec. 21, 2025, Michael Saylor hinted that Strategy Inc. may be preparing another Bitcoin purchase, reinforcing its aggressive treasury strategy even as its shares struggle. The company currently holds 671,268 BTC worth about $59.56 billion, while its stock is down roughly 43% year-to-date and could face additional pressure if MSCI removes it from major equity indices in a February review.

According to the Financial Times, Tether-majority-owned Northern Data sold its Bitcoin mining subsidiary Peak Mining for up to $200 million to three companies controlled by Tether executives. The sale, first disclosed without naming buyers in November, occurred shortly before video platform Rumble agreed to acquire Northern Data and is intertwined with a 610 million euro loan and large advertising and GPU deals between Tether and Rumble.

On December 21, 2025, Litecoin's official X account rejected a viral claim that Charlie Lee regrets creating LTC, saying a CoinDesk interview was clipped and misrepresented. The account posted again on December 22. According to CoinGecko, LTC traded around $77.99 in the past 24 hours and sits at rank 30 by market capitalization.